DCS specific build by a noob

[acdelta57]

Hey everyone, I am starting from scratch to make a build targeting DCS and possibly Arma3 but the priority is DCS. I want a DCS monster eater, however I do NOT plan on using VR or multiple monitors. Right now I use a 30'' single monitor. At the most probably 4k at some point in the future. I am a career aviator so I actually enjoy not being under the VR hood for my sims and do not need a VR capable setup if thats a thing.. With that said the last computer I built was nearly 8 years ago now and my friend who really helped me put the rig together back then has since passed away. But I figure building is still better than buying. My biggest question is "brands." I have done some most research on the type of things I need but as for first hand experience and recommendations I really only have the rating or number of "stars" each product has ben issued. I hope I am on the right track with this list, however I could be far from it (hopefully not lol) if you have some personal experience or know of some things that can be better any advice is GREATLY appreciated. Here is what I have compiled so far.

 

 

Intel Core i7-5930K 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor

 

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU CoolerCPU Cooler

 

ASRock X99 Extreme4 ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard

 

Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory

 

Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

 

Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

 

EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0+ Video Card

 

Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case

 

EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer

 

Asus Xonar DSX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card

 

Wind 10 64 Bit home edition

 

 

 

My current rig that I want to be eaten for lunch by the new rig (i7 2600k 3.4ghz unlocked (prefer to stay unlocked due to stability issues that I read about) 16gb DDR3 GTX580 windows 7)

[Rangi]

My recommendation would be to overclock that 2600k and put in an gtx 1080 (ti if you can wait for it). It will be much cheaper and roughly equivalent performance. Although if you have money burning a hole in your pocket then the above system sounds OK if you can get the parts for discount price.

[JINX_1391]

I know the feeling you're going though. Everything looks good on your list to crush DCS. Keep in mind that DCS is more CPU driven that GPU. And I think ARMA is the same (i've only recently started playing ARMA).

 

So there can be some good trade offs that I can see if you want to jump up to the i7-6700K. You can go with a lower GPU, that would free up budget and with a lower GPU you could save some on the power supply too.

 

I run the i7-6700K with a GTX 970 4GB and never drop below 90 frameson DCS. On Arma I've never seen anything under 60FPS. And both games are on ultra settings.

 

Keep us posted on what you deside, and update us once complete.

 

Cheers!

[agrasyuk]

I would pick LGA1151 platform over LGA 2011, Skylake does good in DCS.

I think I here some complaints about X99 on here few days ago (or was it last week.. )

[HOTAS]

Hi real Aviation! That stuff you're listed looks like more when you are coming to a dealership lot and they start offering you to buy a car from previous model year but for $500 cheaper - when you clearly can see that this year model line looks and works better.

Don't forget the main thing: LGA1151 6700 it's the first in the new CPU line so later you always can do at least one upgrade for 6920 or something like this with 8 or 16 cores at that time.

You also can watch this: [ame]

[/ame] Edited May 27, 2016 by HOTAS

[Malefic Rage]

I also strongly recommend that you stay away from the socket 2011 i7 CPUs. These are expensive enthusiast parts with very high power and cooling requirements in addition to needing a socket 2011 motherboard. These usually require a liquid cooling solution. Due to the way DCS is programmed, the extra cores will give you no benefit whatsoever. If you want to buy the best CPU for DCS get an Intel Core i7 6700K. Even if you don't overclock, the K (unlocked) version gives you an extra 600 MHz over the standard i7 6700. Stick with the 1151 socket.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Malefic Rage
Typo

[Malefic Rage]

Also, with respect to GPU, I'd suggest waiting for the new NVIDIA GTX 1070. They will handle 4K DCS EDGE with ease. If you still want the top end, wait a little while for the GTX 1080 to go down in price; they are currently only selling a high premium "Founder's Edition". Cheaper ones will follow soon.